Do you guys know of any good videos that clearly and explicitly demonstrate how powerful winds on the playa can be, and how structures, seemingly sturdy and well secured, get torn out, collapse on themselves and fly away?

My friends have only been to the burning man once, last year, and now it's impossible to convince them that the flimsy shade structure they think "is ok" - is actually not ok at all, it's an accident waiting to happen.They now think that all this talk about winds and storms is an inside joke like "I heard it's going to be extra dusty this year" or "I heard this is going to be the last year"... they don't take it seriously at all.I need to make them understand that this structure, which we want to use as our kitchen needs MAJOR, MAJOR work...

For what it's worth, I don't know if you've seen it really get bad either (burning since 2009).

You could ask uncle Google or check youtube (there are a number of examples), but the trouble is that during the worst the playa has to offer, breaking out the delicate and expensive electronics doesn't seem like a very good idea. At least you can bring your own gear this year and if the weather gets really rough you won't have to travel far to film accidents and collapses.

What I've seen was humbling enough to know I haven't seen it that bad either, I agree.But this so-called "kitchen" would be my kitchen as well. I have neither the tools nor skills to solidify this so-called kitchen. The disbelieving friends are actually capable of altering the structure so that it would survive, but they think it is unnecessary And now that you mention it, it makes sense that people wouldn't want to ruin their expensive cameras by trying to film major dust storms.Oh well, there's still a month to deal with this.

Just google 'burning man dust storms'. There have been plenty posted around eplaya as well. And some photos of the aftermath of a storm, like car windows after being hit by a flying carport. And it's not just the destruction of your camp, it's the safety of your neighbors. I don't want to be impaled by an EZ-up leg, or my van damaged by your unsecured shade structure.

yer friends are fuckin idiots with no clue...by not taking it seriously they arent endangering gear alone.. but people ..

ive seen some wicked winds out there.. here is a report from 2002..

The Condition Alpha (just after) Burning Man 2002

On the Tuesday following Burning Man 2002, a thousand or so poor souls experienced "Alpha", which started with no warning at midday and lasted for almost three days, with sustained winds at 70mph gusting to over 100mph. DPW did their best, they locked down Burning Man (you couldn't see to find your way out anyway). People were injured (although none seriously) and everyone was left shaken and reminded why it says on the ticket "By Attending This Event You risk Serious Injury or Death". Greeters told us "we dodged a bullet, this could have caused great injury and even fatalities". We helped our friends (11 year veterans) in desperate need and I left with a determination to tell the story of Alpha/2002http://www.damer.com/pictures/events/bu ... guide.html

i wasnt there to see that..

but seriously, its not a joke..

the playa will rip your shit to shreds and send yer gear flying around smashing in to anything if not well secured.

Poorly secured tents, structures and loose objects can fall on people or blow miles away. Black Rock Desert summer temperatures can range from the 30s to 100s (F). Afternoon wind speeds range up to 30 mph, and may gust to over 70 mph. Thunderstorms and whiteouts (blinding dust storms) can spring up unpredictably, and may last for hours or days.

Q. What can I expect from the weather?A. In Nevada, there is a saying: if you don't like the weather, stick around for five minutes and it will change. Only one thing is completely predictable about the weather in the Black Rock Desert: Unpredictability.

Be prepared for volatile extremes, and ready for anything and everything.

Thunderstorms and dust storms arise with breathtaking swiftness, transforming the playa into a gigantic mud puddle in a matter of moments.

We lost Center Camp at our regional, a dome and a bunch of EZups. It is in Utah, salt marsh, but similar wind conditions and often the same weather systems. This one was 46 mph (may have also had a micro-burst wind).

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On the Tuesday following Burning Man 2002, a thousand or so poor souls experienced "Alpha", which started with no warning at midday and lasted for almost three days, with sustained winds at 70mph gusting to over 100mph. DPW did their best, they locked down Burning Man (you couldn't see to find your way out anyway). People were injured (although none seriously) and everyone was left shaken and reminded why it says on the ticket "By Attending This Event You risk Serious Injury or Death". Greeters told us "we dodged a bullet, this could have caused great injury and even fatalities". We helped our friends (11 year veterans) in desperate need and I left with a determination to tell the story of Alpha/2002http://www.damer.com/pictures/events/bu ... guide.html

i wasnt there to see that..

I think I saw part of that. I don't remember if I left Tuesday or Wednesday. However, my husband-to-be was there, and was evacuated to Reno from breathing the dust. (He was one of those asthmatics who found the dust on playa was bad for him.) I think he died once or twice in the ER. Putting together the puzzle pieces is difficult...

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

That seemed like nothing compared to the Alpha that happened after the 2007 event. We had full (heavy) bins of gear getting blown over - after half an hour of under 1 foot visibility and this lovely view (yeah, there were raindrops too).

I started hearing a click-clacking sound against the van that we assumed was hail. I had to brave it to try and secure the bins a bit more, only to discover it wasn't hail, but little black rocks. Another hour or two, things started to clear up a bit but the skies still had that heavy duty yellow-orange glow and the sustained winds had to be pushing 45 mph…

If they're still not on board, it's probably time for you to put up or shut up. Either take the lead on the project and make sure it gets done, or stop harassing them and make your own personal contingency plan should the weather turn out to be as harsh as many suspect (remember, there does exist the possibility that it won't be that bad… mother nature likes to fuck with people).

As you have seen, mostly stills, most people don't video danger. In 2006 there was a destroyed dome on the 10 sound camp road. This is earlier 2000, when Xara camp blew down mid week:If they are mathematical, have them look up the equation for wind force by area and speed.

Wow, I was there for the Alpha storm in 2002. We built a submarine art car out of a school bus, which was also our transportation home 700 miles away. (big mistake)

We had just finished packing up camp when the storm hit on Tuesday. We had to stop completely. Fortunately the bus was good shelter, but was very cramped. We waited hours for it to stop, then inched towards center camp and met Drakka, who was about to be retired for the burn. We got up the next morning on Wed and power shifted our crippled clutch back to Empire where a local we befriended helped us replace it. We got out just before the wind picked up again. It was pretty brutal. We have pictures of us that look like we aged 50 years, white beards covered in dust. I guess we got kind of lucky. Kind of. Took a week to drive back home.

Oh and my first year? Yeah- I was camped with XARA. The picture of the nuked camp above. We spent months building that thing, had one public party on Wed. And Thursday it blew down. I remember re-attaching a disconnected guy line the night before it went down. The camp was at 2:00pm corner, and took a pretty heavy brunt of the wind. At least it forced all us Burgins to go explore other camps that year. The amount of moop was insane. You can see that from the picture. No one was grabbing bits off plastic flying down the open playa. They were busy getting UV flourescent tube glass out of their hair, happy that no one was injured.

In 2006 I watched a ez-up-canopy tent fly 50 feet into the air like a tornado grabbed it and come crashing down into a girls chest. She got a free helicopter ride- to Reno ER.

To Boyscout girl -I got vital information I would've otherwise spent hours looking for, just by asking. Ultimately, the tone in which responses are posted doesn't matter. It's the information itself that matters So cussy or not cussy, I'm still listening

In 2002 we were in camp when a moderate whiteout hit, we hung onto the poles and tarps of our shade for dear life. They ultimately held, but the next year we went to carports. Only took us a couple more years to figure out our current clamshell configuration.

And if you're airlifted (or ambulanced) during the event, there's the little problem of finding a way back to the playa too. One of my campmates last year had the experience in a previous year. Not fun!

NTS, Remember to NOT wrangle carport in high winds & use MANY rebar stakes & ratchet straps to secure. Thank AmtiM and MyLarry for the clamshell configuration..ty!

I've done the clamshell method for a carport without the added special legs and it worked great (including high wind snowstorms in the Sierras!!)IIRC, AntiM and MyLarry use those added legs for headroom clearance.

I'm the MAN in a truck, burner who is stuck, you're in luck! I'll whip out my BIG tow chain and not charge you, not even one lousy buck!